


The Winged Wolf and the Kingslayer

by filhadoboto



Series: Wishes for Season 8 [7]
Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Bran doesn’t remember how he fell, Gen, Jaime confesses his guilt, Visions of the Future
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 20:22:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17874230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/filhadoboto/pseuds/filhadoboto
Summary: After his arrival at Winterfell, Jaime decides to have a private conversation with Bran.





	The Winged Wolf and the Kingslayer

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of the meetings I'm most looking forward to seeing!
> 
> English is not my native language, sorry for grammar errors. In google translate I trust!

 Jaime Lannister met Brandon Stark exactly where he was told to find him: in the godswood, sitting in a wheelchair in front of the heart tree.

For a moment he hesitated. A part of him told him that he had no right to be in that holy place, let alone talk to the boy he had tried to kill.

"Please, Ser Jaime." said the boy in an emotionless voice and startled him, "You can approach."

The knight took a deep breath, did as the boy asked and walked over to face him. Bran indicated to him the rock beside the heart tree and Jaime sat down. The two were silent until the newcomer had the courage to start talking.

"I'm sorry to disturb you. I came here because I have some things to talk to you about, Lord Bran."

Bran gave him a sad look. "You don’t have to call me Lord. Only Bran is enough." Jaime nodded. "What would you like to talk to me about?"

"I came here to ask your forgiveness for what I did to you."

Bran frowned, looking genuinely confused. "I don’t know what you are talking about."

For a moment Jaime himself felt confused. That was until an old conversation with his brother popped into his mind, reminding him that when the boy had awakened, he couldn’t remember how he had fallen from the tower. For a few seconds he thought of sparing both of them from the pain of remembering what had happened so many years ago, but he was already there, face to face with his victim, and he needed to take that weight out of his consciousness once and for all.

"I'm talking about the day you fell, Bran. I'm talking about the day you caught Cersei and I together and I pushed you out of the tower’s window so we could protect our secret."

For a few seconds the boy just stared at him, his face expressing the confusion that must have taken his mind, but he gasped and closed his eyes when the memory finally hit him.

"It was _you._ " he said, his voice almost a whisper. " So I didn’t fall. _I didn’t fall_."

"No, you didn’t."

The boy looked at him with wide eyes. "I can remember now. I remember you two and the crows croaking and the stone gargoyles and how much I was scared and... _The things I do for love_." Bran recited the words Jaime had said before pushing him "I could never remember what had happened that day, even though I had made a lot of effort to remember."

"I'm so sorry. I destroyed your life that day." Jaime's voice was full of guilt and regret. "And I deserve to be punished for doing what I did."

Jaime waited for Bran to call for the guards at the entrance to the godswood and order them to arrest him or even execute him there before the gods of the North, but instead Bran pointed to his golden hand and said calmly "It seems your debt has already been paid, Ser Jaime. Life took your sword’s hand, the hand that made you the man who tried to kill me, and by losing it you became the man before me, admitting your crime."

Jaime stared at the golden object stuck in his stump and remembered how he thought his life was over when Locke had cut off his hand. He thought he was a nothing without that hand and wanted to give up living, but Brienne, Tyrion, and Bronn had helped him move on, to accept that he could learn to use his left hand and could relearn to fight at least to save his own life.

"When I lost my hand, I thought my life was over."

"I also thought I was finished when I was left without the movements of my legs and it was very difficult to give up all my dreams, especially that of being a Kingsguard’s knight. It was hard to accept that I was a cripple, a broken boy, and that I would have to find other dreams to accomplish." Jaime nodded. "But like yours, my life hasn’t ended either because I lost my legs. When I woke up, a new phase of my life began, as did my journey to become what I am today, to become the Three-Eyed Raven." Jaime frowned, completely confused. "Have you ever heard of the greenseers?"

"I think so. They were some kind of sages and leaders of the children of the forest, weren’t they?"

Bran nodded. "And they could also use magic, see through the eyes of the weirwoods and have visions of the past and the future. Did you ever hear about skinchangers as well?"

Jaime gave him a bitter smile. "Yes. Many of my men believed that your brother Robb was capable of turning into a direwolf during the battles and some were afraid that one day they would face him because of this rumor."

Bran gave him a slight smile when he heard his brother's name.

"I can assure you that he wasn’t capable of turning into a direwolf or any other animal, but his direwolf was able to feel the mood and intentions of my brother and Robb was able to enter Gray Wind’s mind when he slept. He had this gift, just like my siblings and I have and I believe that this power has awakened in all of us when we find the litter of direwolf cubs in the woods.” The boy took a deep breath before continuing.  What I mean by all this, Ser Jaime, is that like the Three-Eyed Raven, I can not only get into the mind of any animal and command it. I can also see what has already happened and have visions of what _may_ be awaiting us in the future."

Jaime stared at him. He had no idea what to say and not even if he believed the boy's words.

As if sensing his incredulity, Bran said "You remained faithful to your Kingsguard vows until King Aerys ordered the pyromancer to burn everyone in the city. You killed him to protect the inhabitants of King’s Landing."

Jaime looked at him with surprised eyes. "The only person I spoke to about this was Lady Brienne when we were in Harrenhal as prisoners of Roose Bolton."

"I know. And I also know that your daughter Myrcella died in your arms soon after she revealed that she already knew you were her father."

Jaime's heart ached as he was reminded of his daughter's death. When he thought Myrcella was safe in his arms, she had begun to bleed and then died in his arms, without him having the chance to really be a father to her.

"In fact, that's exactly what happened. She and I were having a moment alone... " Jaime stopped talking when he realized what that meant. He and his daughter were _alone_! So how could the boy know? It would even be possible for him to be able... that he... "You _really_ can see the past."

"Yes, I can."

Jaime stared at him for a few seconds. "This gift of yours must be a very heavy burden to carry alone." He knew full well what it was like to carry heavy burdens.

Bran shrugged. "Yes, but that was my destiny. Even if you hadn’t thrown me from that tower, I couldn’t follow the path I dreamed. The old Bran grew up and learned to accept his fate and it is thanks to this gift that I have been able to discover many things about the Night King and I can keep watch on the advance of his army."

"You also said you can have visions of the future."

"I said."

"Is there any chance the living will win the war?" Jaime felt a lump build in his throat as he waited for the boy's response.

"One of the most difficult things I've learned in my journey was that the past is already written and the paint is dry, but the future ... the future is _always_ changing, Ser Jaime. Every decision made affects the future so that I still cannot see anything but a great battle in the midst of a snowstorm." He closed his eyes, as if he were having a vision at that very moment. "I can only see a great battle in the snow and hear the screams of the living and the hissing of the creatures and the sound of steel beating against steel." He opened his eyes "And nothing more."

Jaime thought for a moment, "Maybe that means both sides are balanced at the moment. That the forces of the Night King and ours are equal and that the victory can be his or ours. Bran, if we want to win this war, we'll need more swords." Jaime stood abruptly. "I need to talk to Queen Daenerys and your brother. We need to get more support and I think I know how we can get it."

Bran nodded and he started walking toward the exit.

"Ser Jaime." Bran called and he stopped and looked at the boy. "Don’t tell anyone about what you've done against me. My family doesn’t need to know this and that would only make them stop trusting you."

Jaime nodded, "As you wish, Bran." And then he continued walking toward the gate of the godswood.

He might not have been able to convince Cersei to fight, but as house Lanninster heir, he could summon the banners to join him in the North, and that was exactly what he would do.

Jaime Lannister would make the future change in their favor and give the living the advantage they needed to win the war.

The living would live to see another spring.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Did you like it? Leave kudos. Leave a comment. 
> 
> You can say "Hello" to me on Tumblr and Twitter: @filhadoboto


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